KR20180052994A - Refrigerator and Controlling method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a refrigerator which comprises: a cabinet having a storage chamber; a door for opening and closing the storage chamber; a case having a discharge port through which air is discharged into the storage chamber; an evaporator provided inside the case for exchanging heat with air to supply cool air; a fan installed in the discharge port and generating an air flow for discharging air having exchanged heat with the evaporator to the storage chamber; and a differential pressure sensor including a first tube having one end positioned at a portion where the air is sucked by the fan and a second tube having one end positioned at a portion where the air is discharged from the fan.

Description

Refrigerator and Controlling Method for the Same

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having improved energy efficiency and a control method thereof.

Generally, a refrigerator includes a machine room at the bottom of the main body. The machine room is generally installed at the lower part of the refrigerator for the center of gravity of the refrigerator, efficiency of assembling, and vibration reduction.

The refrigerator's machine room is equipped with a refrigeration cycle device, which keeps the inside of the refrigerator in a frozen / refrigerated state by using the property of absorbing the external heat while changing the low-pressure liquid refrigerant into gaseous refrigerant, .

The refrigeration cycle apparatus of the refrigerator includes a compressor that changes a low-temperature low-pressure gaseous refrigerant into a high-temperature high-pressure gaseous refrigerant, and a high-temperature high-pressure gaseous refrigerant that is changed in the compressor to a high- A condenser, and an evaporator for absorbing external heat while changing the low-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant changed in the condenser to a gaseous state.

When the compressor is driven, the temperature of the evaporator is lowered, and the evaporator may become entangled with ice. If the evaporator has a lot of ice, the heat exchange efficiency between the evaporator and the air is lowered, so that the cold air supplied to the storage compartment is not sufficiently cooled. Therefore, there is a problem that the compressor must be driven more times and more time.

Further, when ice is concealed in the evaporator, the heater is driven to remove ice from the evaporator. However, there is a problem that power consumed in the refrigerator increases when the heater is driven unnecessarily frequently.

Particularly, in recent refrigerators, as the storage capacity increases, the power consumption of the refrigerator tends to increase, and studies are under way to reduce such power consumption.

The present invention provides a refrigerator having improved energy efficiency and a control method thereof.

The present invention also provides a refrigerator and a control method thereof that can determine whether the operation of the refrigerator is normally performed.

The present invention provides a refrigerator capable of determining a defrosting time point using a differential pressure sensor and a control method thereof.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator including a cabinet having a storage chamber; A door that opens and closes the storage room; A case having a discharge port through which air is discharged into the storage chamber; An evaporator provided in the case for exchanging heat with air to supply cool air; A fan installed in the discharge port and generating an air flow for discharging the heat-exchanged air to the evaporator to the storage chamber; And a differential pressure sensor having a first tube having one end positioned at a portion where air is sucked into the fan and a second tube having one end positioned at a portion where air is discharged from the fan.

The first tube is capable of sensing the pressure of the air flow sucked into the fan.

The second tube is capable of sensing the pressure of the air flow exiting the fan.

The differential pressure sensor is capable of detecting a difference in pressure measured between the first pipe and the second pipe.

The first pipe may have a first through hole formed at one end thereof, and the first through hole may be disposed perpendicular to the air flow by the fan.

The second tube may have a second through-hole formed at one end thereof, and the second through-hole may be disposed perpendicular to the air flow by the fan.

The fan may be disposed between one end of the first tube and one end of the second tube.

The first pipe is exposed to a low-pressure portion having a relatively low pressure, and the second pipe is exposed to a high-pressure portion having a relatively high pressure.

And a controller for performing defrosting of the evaporator according to information sensed by the differential pressure sensor.

The controller may further include a heater provided in the case, and the controller may drive the heater to perform defrosting on the evaporator.

The door switch may further include a door switch for sensing whether the door is opened or closed. The controller senses a pressure difference by the differential pressure sensor when the door detects that the door closes the storage compartment.

The controller may further include a timer for measuring an elapsed time, and the controller may detect a pressure difference by the differential pressure sensor when a time determined by the timer elapses.

When the fan is driven, the control unit can detect the pressure difference by the differential pressure sensor.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner comprising: a fan that discharges heat-exchanged air from an evaporator to a storage chamber; a pressure differential is sensed by a differential pressure sensor that measures a pressure difference between a portion into which air is introduced and a portion from which air is discharged; And performing defrosting on the evaporator if the pressure difference is greater than the set pressure.

It is possible to further include determining whether the fan is driven before the step of detecting the pressure difference.

It is possible to further include a step of determining that the door that closes and closes the storage compartment closes the storage compartment before the step of sensing the pressure difference.

And determining whether a predetermined time has elapsed after the door is closed.

In the defrosting step, the heater for heating the evaporator can be driven.

In the defrosting step, when the temperature of the evaporator reaches the set temperature, it is possible to terminate the driving of the heater and terminate defrosting.

In the step of detecting the pressure difference, the fan can be rotated at a constant rotation speed.

According to the present invention, since information necessary for a refrigerator is obtained by using one differential pressure sensor, errors due to measurement can be reduced as compared with the case where two or more sensors are used. If two values are compared using two or more sensors, different influences are caused by temperature, turbulence, door opening and closing at the position where each sensor is installed, and thus different errors may be generated in the two sensors Therefore, when comparing the values of two sensors, the error may be larger than using one sensor.

Further, according to the present invention, power consumption is reduced as compared with the case where two pressure sensors are used, and necessary resources such as electric wires for installing the two pressure sensors can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, since the end of defrosting is determined by the information measured by the evaporator temperature sensor, the reliability of the defrost termination determination can be secured. Further, the present invention reduces the number of times of driving the heater for defrosting the evaporator by terminating the defrosting in accordance with the temperature sensed by the evaporator temperature sensor, thereby reducing the actual consumption power consumption.

1 is a side cutaway view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a conceptual diagram of an embodiment;
3 is a view showing a portion of the first pipe of the differential pressure sensor exposed at one end thereof;
4 is a view showing a portion where one end of the second pipe of the differential pressure sensor is exposed;
5 is a view for explaining an embodiment;
6 is a control block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention;
7 is a control flow chart for sensing the conception of the evaporator according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The sizes and shapes of the components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience. In addition, terms defined in consideration of the configuration and operation of the present invention may be changed according to the intention or custom of the user, the operator. Definitions of these terms should be based on the content of this specification.

In an embodiment of the present invention, there is a technical difference from using two pressure sensors, using one differential pressure sensor. Using two pressure sensors, the pressure difference can be calculated at two positions using the difference in pressure measured by the two pressure sensors.

Generally, the pressure sensor is generally measured in units of 100 Pa. In the embodiment of the present invention, a pressure difference sensor can be used to measure a pressure difference more precisely than a general pressure sensor. The differential pressure sensor can not measure the absolute pressure value of the measured position, but it is easy to measure the difference of the smaller unit compared with the pressure sensor because it can calculate the pressure difference at two positions.

In addition, when two pressure sensors are used, two sensors are used, so that a large amount of resources such as a cost and a wire for installing two sensors are required. On the other hand, using one differential pressure sensor can save the cost and resources for installing the sensor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a conceptual view of an embodiment.

This will be described below with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. Fig.

The refrigerator includes a cabinet 2 having a plurality of storage chambers 6 and 8 and a door 4 for opening and closing the storage chambers 6 and 8.

The first storage chamber 6 and the first storage chamber 6 are divided into a first storage chamber 6 and a second storage chamber 8 and the first storage chamber 6 and the first storage chamber 6 are divided into a refrigerator compartment or a freezer compartment, It is possible. The first storage chamber 6 and the first storage chamber 6 may constitute a freezer compartment and a refrigerating compartment respectively. Alternatively, the first storage compartment 6 and the first storage compartment 6 may form a refrigerating compartment , It is also possible to form a freezer room.

And a case 35 accommodating the evaporator 20 is provided at the rear of the storage chamber.

An outlet 38 through which air can be supplied from the case 35 to the storage compartment is formed in the case 35 and an inlet 32 through which air is supplied from the storage compartment to the case 35 is formed do.

The inlet port 32 is provided with an inlet pipe 30 through which the air is guided into the case 35 so that the storage chamber 6 and the case 35 can be connected to form an air flow path .

The discharge port 38 is provided with a fan 40 so that air inside the case 35 can be moved to the storage chamber 6 or 8. Since the case 35 has an entirely closed configuration except for the inlet 32 and the outlet 38, when the fan 40 is driven, the case 35 is opened from the inlet 32 to the outlet 38 A moving air flow is generated.

The air passing through the fan (40) is provided with a duct (7) for guiding air to the first storage chamber (6), and cool air can be supplied to the first storage chamber (6). The air that has passed through the fan (40) can also be supplied to the second storage room (8).

In the case 35, the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 60 is vaporized to accommodate the evaporator 20 which generates cold air. The inside air of the case (35) is cooled while heat exchanging with the evaporator (20).

A heater (50) for generating heat to defrost the evaporator (20) is provided below the evaporator (20). The heater 50 need not be installed below the evaporator 20 but may be provided inside the case 35 so that the evaporator 20 can be heated.

The evaporator 20 is provided with an evaporator temperature sensor 92 to measure the temperature of the evaporator 20. The evaporator temperature sensor 92 senses a low temperature when the refrigerant passing through the inside of the evaporator 20 is vaporized and the high temperature when the heater 50 is driven.

The compressor (60) is installed in a machine room provided in the cabinet (2), and can compress the refrigerant supplied to the evaporator (20). The compressor (60) is installed outside the case (35).

The inlet 32 is located below the evaporator 20 and the outlet 38 is located above the evaporator 20. The outlet (38) is disposed higher than the evaporator (20), and the inlet (32) is disposed lower than the evaporator (20).

Accordingly, when the fan 40 is driven, the air moves upward in the case 35. [ The air introduced into the inlet 32 is heat-exchanged through the evaporator 20 and is discharged to the outside of the case 35 through the outlet 38

A differential pressure sensor 100 for measuring a difference in pressure is provided at a portion adjacent to the discharge port 38.

The discharge port 38 is provided with a fan 40 for generating an air flow for discharging the heat-exchanged air to the evaporator 20 into the storage compartment. When the fan (40) is driven, the air inside the case (35) can be moved to the storage compartment through the outlet (38).

The differential pressure sensor 100 includes a first through hole 110 located at a portion where air is sucked into the fan 40 and a second through hole 120 located at a portion where air is discharged from the fan 40. [ .

The differential pressure sensor 100 includes a first pipe 150 having the first through hole 110 at one end thereof and a second pipe 170 having the second through hole 120 formed at one end thereof.

The differential pressure sensor 100 includes a body portion connecting the first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120. The body portion includes a first pipe 150 formed with the first through hole 110, A second pipe 170 having the second through hole 120 formed therein and a connecting member 200 connecting the first pipe 150 and the second pipe 170 to each other.

At this time, the connecting member 200 is disposed higher than the evaporator 20, so that moisture condensed in the evaporator 20 can not be dropped on the connecting member 200. The connecting member 200 may be installed to be embedded in the case 35 as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the connecting member 200 may be installed on one side of the case 35.

The connection member 200 may be provided with an electronic device, which is likely to be damaged when water drops are dropped. The water droplets formed in the evaporator 20 fall down due to gravity. When the connection member 200 is disposed on the upper side of the evaporator 20, the water droplets of the evaporator 20 are dropped to the connection member 200 It does not.

The first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120 may be arranged perpendicular to the air flow direction by the fan 40.

The first pipe 150 may sense the pressure of air flowing into the fan 40. In order to measure the static pressure of the air moving from the first pipe 150 to the fan 40, the first through hole 110 is perpendicular to the air flow to the fan 40 .

2, air is moved upward by the fan 40 inside the case 35 (corresponding to the right side in FIG. 2). Therefore, the first through-hole 110 can sense a positive pressure with respect to air that is vertically positioned with respect to the upward movement direction and moves upward.

The second pipe 170 may sense the pressure of the air flow discharged from the fan 40. The second through hole 120 may be disposed perpendicular to the air flow to the fan 40 to measure the static pressure of the air moving from the fan 40 in the second tube 170 .

2, the air discharged from the case 35 through the discharge port 38 is moved in a horizontal direction from the right side to the left side. Accordingly, the second through-hole 120 is vertically positioned with respect to the horizontal moving direction and can sense a positive pressure with respect to the horizontally moving air.

The first pipe (150) and the second pipe (170) may be connected to each other at the connecting member (200).

The differential pressure sensor 100 senses a pressure difference between air passing through the first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120. A pressure difference is generated because the fan 40 is disposed with the intervening portion therebetween. The second through hole 120 is relatively high in pressure and the first through hole 110 is relatively low in pressure so that the differential pressure sensor 100 senses the pressure difference. The first pipe 150 is exposed to a low pressure part having a relatively low pressure and the second pipe 170 is exposed to a relatively high pressure part having a relatively high pressure.

A portion where the air is sucked in the fan 40 can be low pressure because air escapes and a portion where air is discharged from the fan 40 can be a high pressure portion, A pressure difference occurs.

In particular, when the fan 40 is driven, an air flow is generated inside the case 35, so that the pressure difference can be measured in the differential pressure sensor 100.

The fan (40) is disposed between one end of the first pipe (150) and one end of the second pipe (170). That is, the fan 40 is disposed between the first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120 and the air flow is generated by the fan 40. Therefore, 110 and the second through-hole 120 may be different from each other.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a portion of the first pipe of the differential pressure sensor exposed at one end, and FIG. 4 is a view showing a portion of the second pipe of the differential pressure sensor exposed at one end.

3, the first through-hole 110 of the first pipe 150 is exposed to the portion of the case 35 where the evaporator 20 is located.

The first through hole 110 is disposed higher than the evaporator 20 but is positioned lower than the fan 40 to sense the pressure of the air that is raised toward the fan 40. Since the present invention uses one differential pressure sensor, the absolute value of the pressure is not measured in the first through hole 110 but can be compared with the measured value in the second through hole 120, Obtain information to the extent that the pressure difference can be measured.

3 and 4 show an example in which a centrifugal fan is installed among the kinds of fans.

Since the first through hole 110 is disposed on the path through which air is sucked into the fan 40, information for determining a pressure difference through the first through hole 110 can be obtained.

Since the first through hole 110 is disposed on the upper side of the evaporator 20, defrosting of the evaporator 20 is performed so that even if the frozen ice on the evaporator 20 melts, It is impossible to enter the through hole 110. Therefore, even if defrosting is performed on the evaporator 20, the first through hole 110 can be prevented from being clogged, so that the measurement error of the differential pressure sensor 100 can be reduced.

The second through hole 120 is disposed at a portion where the air is discharged from the fan 40. 1 and 2, since the fan 40 is specified as a centrifugal fan, the air discharged from the fan 40 is guided downward from the fan 40 in FIG.

Therefore, the second through-hole 120 may be disposed perpendicular to the lower direction in which the air is moved, so that information for sensing a pressure difference may be obtained.

In FIG. 4, the air discharged by the fan 40 is guided to the branched duct, and then is moved from the respective ducts to the storage room through the communication hole connected to the storage room. At this time, the air discharged by the fan 40 is moved in the direction away from the center of the fan 40 from the center of the fan 40.

5 is a view for explaining an embodiment.

In FIG. 5, the x-axis represents the flow rate and the y-axis represents the static pressure difference. The y-axis pressure difference may mean the pressure difference value measured by the differential pressure sensor.

A dotted line is a graph showing a pressure difference according to a flow rate in a state where no ice is conceived in the evaporator 20.

The line indicated by the one-dot chain line is a graph showing the pressure difference according to the flow rate in a state in which the evaporator 20 is frozen to such an extent that defrosting is necessary.

The line indicated by the solid line is a graph showing the pressure change with the flow rate change under the condition that the same input voltage is applied to the fan and the rotation is performed at substantially the same rpm.

As can be seen from FIG. 5, when the ice is congealed on the evaporator 20, the flow rate by the fan 40 decreases, and the pressure difference measured by the differential pressure sensor 100 increases.

That is, when the pressure difference measured by the differential pressure sensor 100 increases, ice can be expected to be congested in the evaporator 20. At this time, if the pressure difference measured by the differential pressure sensor 100 is larger than a predetermined value, it can be determined that ice is congealed on the evaporator 20 to a degree that defrosting of the evaporator 20 is necessary.

6 is a control block diagram according to the present invention.

Referring to Fig. 6, the present invention includes a compressor 60 capable of compressing refrigerant. The control unit 96 may drive the compressor 60 to supply cool air to the storage compartment when it is necessary to cool the storage compartment. Information on whether the compressor (60) is driven may be transmitted to the controller (96).

And a fan (40) for generating an air flow for supplying cool air to the storage room. Information about whether the fan 40 is driven may be transmitted to the controller 96 and may be transmitted to the controller 96 to drive the fan 40. [

A door switch 70 is provided to obtain information on whether the door 4 that opens and closes the storage compartment opens and closes the storage compartment. The door switches 70 are individually provided in the respective doors so that each door can sense whether the storage room is opened or closed.

And a timer 80 for detecting the elapsed time is provided. The time measured by the timer 80 is transmitted to the controller 96. For example, after the control unit 96 obtains a signal indicating that the door 4 is closed by the door switch 70, the door 4 is closed by the time measured by the timer 80, The information about the elapsed time can be received.

The temperature information measured by the evaporator temperature sensor 92, which can measure the temperature of the evaporator, can also be transmitted to the controller 96 when defrosting is performed. The control unit 96 may terminate defrosting of the evaporator according to the temperature information measured by the evaporator temperature sensor 92.

Also, a heater 50 for heating the evaporator may be provided, and the controller 96 may issue a command to drive the heater 50. When the defrosting operation is started, the control unit 96 drives the heater 50, and when the defrosting operation is completed, the controller 96 can stop driving the heater 50.

FIG. 7 is a control flowchart for sensing the conception of the evaporator according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, in an embodiment of the present invention, a portion into which air is introduced into a fan 40 for discharging the heat-exchanged air from the evaporator 20 to the storage chambers 6 and 8, The pressure difference being sensed by a differential pressure sensor 100 measuring a pressure difference between a portion where the air is discharged from the evaporator 40 and a pressure difference when the pressure difference is greater than the set pressure, .

Meanwhile, the pressure difference used in this specification may mean the pressure difference value measured once, and the average value of the pressure difference measured several times is also possible. The pressure measured by the differential pressure sensor 100 may temporarily be an anomalous value due to various external factors. When an average value of the pressure differences is used, the reliability of the pressure difference measured by the differential pressure sensor 100 increases .

The pressure difference between the first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120 is increased when the pressure difference measured by the differential pressure sensor 100 is larger than the set pressure. The increased pressure difference may mean that the amount of frozen ice on the evaporator 20 increases and it is difficult for the evaporator 20 to perform a smooth heat exchange. Therefore, cool air is not smoothly supplied from the evaporator 20 to the storage chambers 6 and 8, so defrosting may be required.

Also, before the differential pressure sensing is performed, it can be determined whether the fan 40 is being driven (S20).

An air flow may be generated between the first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120 in the differential pressure sensor 100 when the fan 40 is driven, 100), the pressure difference can be measured smoothly.

Therefore, if the fan 40 is not driven, it is also possible that the differential pressure sensor 100 does not measure the pressure difference.

The door 4 may close the storage compartment 6 and 8 in the door switch 70 to determine whether a predetermined time has elapsed or not to detect the pressure difference in the differential pressure sensor 100 ). It is possible to measure the elapsed time after first determining whether the door 4 is closed by the door switch 70 before measuring the elapsed time in the timer 80. [ At this time, the elapsed time may be approximately 1 minute, but may be variously changed.

If the door (4) does not close the storage compartment (6, 8), the air flow inside the case (35) may be changed.

Unexpected airflow may be generated at the inlet 32 and the outlet 38 due to the closing of the door 4 if the door 4 is closed and the predetermined time has not elapsed.

Therefore, in this case, when the pressure difference is measured by the differential pressure sensor 100, the measured pressure difference may provide erroneous information. If the defrosting time point of the evaporator 20 is determined by using such erroneous information, the heater 50 may be driven unnecessarily frequently or the heater 50 may be driven at a necessary time point to prevent the evaporator 20 from being damaged .

Then, the differential pressure sensor 100 measures a pressure difference between the first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120 (S40). At this time, information on the measured pressure difference may be transmitted to the controller 96.

The control unit 96 can keep the rpm of the fan 40 constant by setting the input voltage to the fan 40 to be constant when measuring the pressure difference in the differential pressure sensor 100. [

When the rpm of the fan 40 changes, the pressure difference with respect to the flow rate of the fan 40 varies with different trends (as shown in FIG. 5, The pressure difference measured by the differential pressure sensor 100 varies. Therefore, it is not possible to accurately determine whether the defroster 20 has been defrosted by the pressure difference measured by the differential pressure sensor 100 as needed. Therefore, in one embodiment, the input voltage of the fan 40 is kept constant so that the differential pressure sensor 100 can detect only the pressure difference corresponding to the implantation amount in the evaporator 20 without changing the other conditions desirable.

The control unit 96 compares the measured pressure difference, that is, the pressure difference, with the set pressure P1 (S50). If the differential pressure is larger than the set pressure P1, it is judged that a large amount of ice is conceived in the evaporator 20 and defrosting is necessary. If a large amount of ice is formed in the evaporator 20, it is difficult to sufficiently exchange heat in the evaporator 20, so that it is difficult to supply sufficient cold air to the storage chambers 6 and 8. The set pressure P1 may be set to about 20 Pa, but may be changed in consideration of the capacity, size, and the like of the refrigerator.

The control unit 96 drives the heater 50 to perform defrosting while supplying heat to the evaporator 20 (S60). Since the evaporator 20 is disposed in the same space partitioned inside the heater 50 and the case 35, when the heater 50 is driven, the temperature inside the case 35 is increased, The temperature of the second chamber 20 can be raised.

Then, the ice that has adhered to the evaporator 20 is partially melted and turned into water, and some of the ice is melted and can not be attached to the evaporator 20 and can be detached from the evaporator 20. Accordingly, the area of the evaporator 20 in direct thermal contact with the air is increased, so that the heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator 20 can be improved.

The evaporator temperature sensor 92 measures the temperature of the evaporator 20 while defrosting is being performed, i.e., while the heater 50 is being driven. If the temperature of the evaporator 20 is higher than the set temperature T1, it is determined that the evaporator 20 is fully defrosted (S70).

That is, the control unit 96 may stop the driving of the heater 50. The fact that the evaporator 20 is larger than the set temperature T1 means that the evaporator 20 can supply cool air to the storage compartments 6 and 8 rather than removing all the frozen ice in the evaporator 20 It can mean a condition that can be changed into a certain condition.

If the temperature of the evaporator 20 is not increased by the predetermined temperature T1, it is determined that the evaporator 20 is not sufficiently defrosted, so that the heater 50 can be continuously driven to supply heat.

In one embodiment, the defrosting point of the evaporator 20 is determined by the differential pressure measured by the differential pressure sensor 100. In order to improve the reliability of the differential pressure value measured by the differential pressure sensor 100, a condition that stabilizes the air flow inside the case 35 may be added.

If the evaporator 20 is defrosted frequently, the heater 50 is frequently driven and the power consumed by the heater 50 is increased, thereby lowering the energy efficiency of the refrigerator as a whole.

Further, if the heat supplied from the heater 50 flows into the storage room 6 or 8 through the inlet or the outlet, the food stored in the storage room may be deteriorated. Further, in order to cool the air heated by the heat supplied by the heater 50, the evaporator 20 may be required to supply more cool air.

Therefore, in one embodiment, it is possible to reliably determine the defrosting time point, thereby reducing power consumption unnecessarily, and providing a refrigerator and its control method having improved energy efficiency as a whole.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

2: cabinet 20: evaporator
40: Fan 50: Heater
60: Compressor
92: Evaporator temperature sensor 96:
100: differential pressure sensor 110: first through hole
120: second through hole 150: first tube
170: second tube 200: connecting member

Claims (20)

A cabinet with a storage room;
A door that opens and closes the storage room;
A case having a discharge port through which air is discharged into the storage chamber;
An evaporator provided in the case for exchanging heat with air to supply cool air;
A fan installed in the discharge port and generating an air flow for discharging the heat-exchanged air to the evaporator to the storage chamber; And
And a differential pressure sensor having a first tube having one end positioned at a portion where air is sucked by the fan and a second tube having one end positioned at a portion where air is discharged from the fan. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first tube senses a pressure of the air flow sucked into the fan. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the second tube senses the pressure of the air flow discharged from the fan. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the differential pressure sensor senses a difference in pressure measured between the first pipe and the second pipe. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first tube has a first through hole formed at one end thereof,
Wherein the first through hole is disposed perpendicular to the air flow by the fan. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the second tube has a second through hole formed at one end thereof,
And the second through-hole is disposed perpendicular to the air flow by the fan. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the fan is disposed between one end of the first tube and one end of the second tube. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first tube is exposed to a low pressure part having a relatively low pressure and the second tube is exposed to a high pressure part having a relatively high pressure. The method according to claim 1,
And a controller for performing defrosting on the evaporator according to information sensed by the differential pressure sensor. 10. The method of claim 9,
Further comprising a heater provided inside the case,
Wherein the controller drives the heater to perform defrosting on the evaporator. 10. The method of claim 9,
Further comprising a door switch for sensing whether the door opens or closes the storage compartment,
Wherein the controller senses a pressure difference by the differential pressure sensor when the door detects that the door closes the storage compartment. 12. The method of claim 11,
Further comprising a timer for measuring an elapsed time,
Wherein the controller detects the pressure difference by the differential pressure sensor when a predetermined time has elapsed by the timer. 10. The method of claim 9,
When the fan is driven,
Wherein the controller detects the pressure difference by the differential pressure sensor. Detecting a pressure difference by a differential pressure sensor for measuring a difference in pressure between a portion where air is introduced into a fan for discharging the air exchanged in the evaporator into the storage chamber and a portion in which air is discharged from the fan;
And performing defrosting on the evaporator if the pressure difference is greater than the set pressure. 15. The method of claim 14,
Before the step of detecting the pressure difference,
Further comprising the step of determining whether the fan is driven. 15. The method of claim 14,
Before the step of detecting the pressure difference,
Further comprising the step of determining that the door for opening and closing the storage compartment closes the storage compartment. 17. The method of claim 16,
Further comprising the step of: determining whether a predetermined time has elapsed after the door is closed. 17. The method of claim 16,
In the defrosting step,
And a heater for heating the evaporator is driven. 19. The method of claim 18,
In the defrosting step,
And when the temperature of the evaporator reaches the set temperature, the driving of the heater is terminated to terminate the defrosting. 15. The method of claim 14,
In the step of detecting the pressure difference,
Wherein the fan is rotated at a constant rotation speed.

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